In 60 seconds
Floating high above the clouds at 1,500 metres in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps just an hour north of Ljubljana, Velika Planina is one of Europe's very few surviving authentic high-altitude herdsmen's settlements. Scattered across rolling limestone karst pastures are over a hundred traditional wooden huts (bajte), identifiable by their unique rounded oval shapes and dark spruce-shingle roofs that slope almost all the way to the grassy ground to withstand fierce winter blizzards. In June, the tinkling of bronze cowbells signals the annual arrival of alpine cattle and local herdsmen, who spend the summer months grazing livestock, churning sour milk (kislo mleko), and crafting Trnič — an intricate, pear-shaped hard cheese stamped with wooden relief seals that shepherds traditionally presented as love tokens to their sweethearts. Ascended via cable car from the Kamniška Bistrica river gorge, this is a magical, timeless world of wildflower meadows and panoramic mountain ridges.
Best for
Known for
Skip if
You require paved city streets or wheelchair-friendly paths; Velika Planina is an open alpine plateau crossed by grassy hiking trails and rocky cow tracks.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Velika Planina fits them. Choose interests
See
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Open-air alpine settlement of over 100 traditional oval wooden cottages roofed in pine shingles
Walk among grazing Simmental cattle and visit working herdsmen who invite travellers inside to taste fresh sour milk and warm buckwheat žganci.
Authentic preserved 19th-century oval hut with no chimney and open stone central hearth
Step through the low timber doorway to see how shepherds slept around the open smoke-hearth alongside their calves.
Shingled wooden mountain chapel set on an open crest, built by original herdsmen and architect Jože Plečnik's school
A peaceful spiritual beacon rebuilt in traditional spruce-shingle style after the original 1938 shrine was burned during WWII.
Eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Cosy mountain refuge serving steaming barley ričet, smoked sausages, and homemade blueberry strudel
Hearty, warming alpine sustenance served at wooden benches with wide views over the forested valleys below.
Traditional shepherd's fare served directly at the summer dairy huts: sour milk, warm buckwheat žganci, and cheese
Sit on the wooden doorstep of an active hut enjoying thick clay bowls of fresh curd and golden, crackling-topped žganci.
Upper chairlift terminal inn offering cold Laško beer, coffee, and famous baked cottage cheese štruklji
Do not miss the legendary rolled cottage cheese štruklji, baked with sweet golden breadcrumb butter.
Beyond the obvious
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Ice-cold turquoise karst spring and 30-metre deep limestone chasm at the base of the cable car
Stop at the head of the valley to admire the crystalline, moss-draped glacial spring of the Kamniška Bistrica river.
Natural limestone collapse sinkhole where winter snow and ice survive in permanent deep freeze through summer
Peer down into the chilly chasm where shepherds historically stored perishable milk and cheese in natural ice banks.
Stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Traditional spruce-shingle huts converted into comfortable fairy-tale holiday cottages on the high plateau
An unforgettable experience: wake up above the clouds to the sound of cowbells and watch the sunset from your private timber porch.
Charming historical town at the valley entrance with castle ruins and direct bus links to Ljubljana
Convenient urban base for travellers looking for restaurants and straightforward transit to the mountain.
Practical
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
The earliest documented records confirm summer grazing rights for local herdsmen across the high pastures of Velika Planina.
German forces burn down the entire original village and chapel during WWII; the settlement is faithfully rebuilt in its original oval design.
The aerial cable car opens from Kamniška Bistrica, making the alpine plateau accessible to day hikers and winter skiers.
Further out
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Preserved medieval town with a twin-storey Romanesque castle chapel perched on a central cliff
Explore the medieval Šutna street and sample local craft beers at Maister Brewery in Kamnik.
